Meet Ahmed and Read How His Internships Helped Him

Over 6 years ago Ahmed moved to the United States from Egypt. He is now a senior at the Academy of Engineering and Green Technology. In his free time Ahmed is on the school soccer team and has worked on many projects such as the Lunar Rover Project, Nepal Project 2.0 and Earth and Apple Day. He has one sister who is currently in college.

Before participating in an internship, Ahmed wasn’t sure of what he wanted to do as a career. At first, he thought of the careers that all of his friends talked about such as police officer, pilot, or fire fighter. He shared that he didn’t have much work experience, but wanted to be responsible. Ahmed wanted to explore other options and knew an internship would be an opportunity to do just that.

In summer 2015, Ahmed went to the “Yes Academy” conducted by the Connecticut Business and Industry Association. The Yes Academy offered career preparation and competency training. Ahmed received help building his resume and cover letter, and learning communication skills and proper business attire. Ahmed knew this would help him be more competitive in pursuing an internship.

When he first heard about the opportunity of doing an internship through the Hartford Student Internship Program (HSIP), he thought it would be a good idea to see how a business works and to get a better understanding of what he wants to do for a career. His internship opened his eyes to new career options that he didn’t even know about such as Mechanical Engineering. After applying for the internship program, Ahmed said that there were many internships available to him. Personally, he chose one close to his house because of transportation reasons.

Ahmed’s first internship was at United Technologies (UTC). One of his biggest responsibilities was research and data entry. Ahmed wasn’t accustomed to office work, he enjoys being more hands on but after time he got more familiar with it. For the following fall and spring he chose Leadership Greater Harford. Ahmed wanted to see if he could adapt to working in an office setting. He always focused on his goal of continuously getting the job done on time and to do the best he could.

Ultimately, he enjoyed his internships and learned a lot about different career fields, skills he needed for the job and his own interests. Not only did his Microsoft Office skills improve, but he also learned more about time management. Ahmed said that he is more prepared for college now because when it comes to school work and activities he is better at prioritizing his time. Participating in HSIP changed his understanding of what is available in the world of work. It also makes him one step ahead compared to other students his age who might not have done an internship.

He highly recommends internships to other students. Ahmed says when he tells other students from some of his college classes about his internship experiences, they are surprised that he is only in high school and has already done two internships.